"If the White House explosions really happened, the algorithms
that make decisions for high-speed traders would continue
selling, leaving the average investor behind as stock values
tumbled.

It shows how much the game is tilted against individual
investors. The cacophonous floor trading that you see on
television is passé. These days, high frequency trading
algorithms initiate 70%
of stock trades on U.S. exchanges. There is no way you
can beat them.

Do you think you can come up
with a good trade, log into your online brokerage and click sell?
By the time the software debits your checking account and
executes the trade, you missed the opportunity. During the
Twitter Flitter, my own order entry screen was moving so quickly
it was impossible for any human to react and make intelligent
stock choices."

The bottom
line: These days, computer speed has become just about
as as important for successful trades as good old fashioned
know-how. And it's one more piece of evidence supporting the
notion that individual investors aren't helping themselves by
obsessively day trading. Not only have studies shown that day
traders aren't as successful as those who invest in passively
managed index funds, but you're begging your brokerage firm to
pick apart any gains you might pocket with trading and activity
fees along the way.